Left fielder Chris Dickerson still isn't sure whether he suffered his fifth concussion when he collided heads Monday with Houston shortstop Miguel Tejada in a play at second base.
All he knows is that he hasn't played since the incident and was ready to play Friday against the Pirates. With southpaw Zach Duke on the mound, Dickerson was not in the starting lineup but will be there Saturday against Pirates righty Russ Ohlendorf. During his absence, Laynce Nix has played left field against right-handed pitchers and is batting .310 with a home run, but manager Dusty Baker said, "We have to get Dickerson going," referring to a .205 batting average and three errors in the outfield.
When Dickerson was injured, the diagnosis was concussion-like symptoms and he took an Impact Test and said, "The head specialist never said whether it was a concussion, so I'm leaving it as concussion-like symptoms. I just know I no longer have any effects and I have clarity and I can read the newspapers again."
At one point this season, Dickerson had a five-game hitting streak during which he hit .333, but has been swinging a slow bat in recent games.
REDS 4, PIRATES 0: RHP Bronson Arroyo (4-1) gave up hits to the first two batters he faced, then didn't give up another until the seventh en route to holding the Pirates scoreless on four hits over eight innings. 1B Joey Votto drove in a run in the sixth with a single behind CF Willy Taveras' single and 2B Brandon Phillips homered leading off the eighth, then drove in the team's third run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth.
